


Nature on Two Legs

by talonyth



Series: prompted [18]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, tobio's hiking adventures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-06
Updated: 2014-09-06
Packaged: 2018-02-16 09:00:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2263722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talonyth/pseuds/talonyth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kageyama has definitely not gotten lost but the forest seems unfamiliar. Thank Goodness local nature kid Hinata is there to save his sorry ass from a boar. Or whatever it is that roars in the bushes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nature on Two Legs

No. Tobio Kageyama refuses to admit he has gotten lost. He has not. Absolutely definitely not. Yet he has no idea where the hell he is, there are no shops, no houses, no signs. Nothing. Boonies. And he swears he just heard a boar roar. Or whatever it is that could also roar. 

His parents thought it would be a great idea to take him out on a trip into the mountains. Yes. A great idea, it is healthy and it will build up your stamina. If only they had also told him they were going to go hiking. Kageyama doesn't hate hiking. He _loves_ it. But he is faster than them and once he is in a rush of adrenaline, he doesn't hear, feel or see anything. 

So now he ended up being nowhere, his parents also nowhere, not in his sight at least and he is sure that the map says there needs to be a village nearby or something of the sort but he doesn't see a single sign of that. ...Was that the boar again? 

It starts getting dark and Kageyama is sure he is going to simply sit down and wait. Either for the boar or his parents or maybe death. Latter sounds like a great idea right now. 

But then he hears them. Footsteps. And they sound dangerously close. And suddenly Kageyama realizes that he has no survival skills whatsoever. The most he could do is punch someone. Would a punch knock out a boar? How about two punches? He could also try and blast it his his backpack. 

He is ready to take action when a head pops out between the branches, covered in leaves and dirt from the surrounding trees. Brightly orange coloured hair of which Kageyama is not sure whether they are natural or dyed and hazelnut eyes staring at him. "Oh? Who're you?"

What a high-pitched voice. Kageyama breathes out and his entire body relaxes instantly. Until he remembers the question. 

"Who are _you_?"

A broad smile comes to the other person's face and he jumps out of the bush. His clothes are completely covered in dust. Just what was he doing? 

"I'm Shouyou Hinata! So, who're you? You look like you're lost."

Kageyama suppresses a remark and clicks his tongue. "I'm not lost. I just took a different way."

"Yeah, and you have no idea where you are, right? That's what getting lost means."

Hinata - as he decides to call the other for now - dusts his clothes off and runs his fingers through his hair. He is short... and seems pretty young. And obnoxious as hell. Just as he means to retort, Hinata interrupts him. "Lucky you I came by. Though the village is really not that far away. And there are signs everywhere."

Kageyama decides to ignore the last part though it is a real strain and nods. "Yeah, whatever. Are you on your way back?"

"Yup. I can take you with me. Are you here alone?"

He seems curious, that guy. But as he starts walking, Kageyama follows him. He wants to see the signs with his own eyes because he does not remember seeing any at all. 

"No, I'm with my parents."

"Really? Where are they?"

He picks a flower from a nearby bush and another and Kageyama watches his as he leads. What a weird guy. Then again, this is a pretty surreal situation like in a survival movie or that sort of thing. What a joke.

".....I have no idea."

Hinata turns his head to him and grins complacently. "You totally got lost."

"Did not."

He sighs and spots the first sign, swallowing down and then realizes he had just gotten of the path a little so he simply didn't see them. How embarrassing. There is no way he could have missed those, what the hell. 

"What are you doing here anyway? You look like you came to play with dirt or climb some trees."

Hinata lets out a laugh and Kageyama only now realizes how many flowers he has collected. He carries them in his shirt, hem lifted so they don't fall out. His hair is still full of tiny branches and leaves. It reminds him a little of a story his dad told him before. About tree and nature spirits and he doesn't remember much except that they are said to look like nature walking on two legs. That's him.

"Kinda? Dunno, I don't really have much to do up in the village. And since the forest is not dangerous, a lot of us come out here to pass some time."

Not dangerous? Really? Then what about the boar? They pass the second sign and Kageyama starts to feel uncomfortable. Perhaps he did get lost. 

"...Aren't there wild animals here or stuff?"

"Nah. Just deers and bunnies and animals who are more afraid of us than we need to be of them."

He hears that a lot. Spiders are more afraid of you than you need to be of them. Whatever, they are still gross. Isn't it the same for animals? Aren't they still dangerous?

He catches up to Hinata, walking right by his side and seeing him entwine the flowers together. "Shouldn't you be concentrating on the path ahead?"

"Nah, I was born here. I know my way around without looking. Trust me."

Hinata hasn't looked up once from the flowers while talking, his belly all free because he has bound his shirt to hold the flowers in it. Is he even real? Who knows, maybe the boar tackled him and he is in a coma now and this all is just a really dumb dream. 

He reaches out for Hinata's hair and pulls a leaf out, the boy jolting at the touch. 

"Whatcha doin'! Leave it be!" he says and slaps Kageyama's hand away. Honestly? He likes the "decoration"?

"Sorry. I'm... it irks me, come on, you can't tell me you look like this just because you live in a secluded village. What the heck. I know these are the boonies but---"

"No, I don't but you haven't even told me your name and try to touch my hair. What the heck to _you_ , moron."

Kageyama stops in his tracks and stares at Hinata who is surprised at the sudden standstill. He blinks in confusion and Kageyama nods slowly. True. He never told him. 

"My name's not moron, I'm Kageyama."

"That's long. What's your first name?"

"None of your business."

Hinata groans and shoots Kageyama a look. "Come on, don't be like that, I saved your sorry ass from the mountains! Besides, you know my first name, too. I'm more comfortable with that so call me that."

"Saved? Sorry ass? Didn't you say the mountains weren't dangerous? And I will not call you by your first name, I don't even know you!"

He realizes he has no reason to be angry and no reason not to tell Hinata his first name but somehow.... yeah, he'll definitely not call him by his first name anyway. Isn't that a bit too... well, intimate? Feels kind of weird. 

"To us locals? Because we know where to go and where not to but you're just... you got lost with a billion signs around you! And I don't even mind, I'd call you by your first name if I knew it!"

Kageyama crosses his arms and glares at Hinata. Oh. So that's how it is. Not afraid of them, my ass. 

"I did not get lost! And oh yeah? Really! Well, it's Tobio, come on and try it, dumbass!"

Hinata grins at him and Kageyama realizes he made it sound like he would be the winner if he told Hinata his name and dared him. He closes his mouth and hides his face in hands. Terrible. Absolutely terrible. 

"Tobio. That's cute, I like it."

"But I don't so stop that."

"Mmmm. Nah. The entire village goes on first name basis, that's rule number one! Makes everyone feel homey and cozy, y'know!"

Kageyama lowers his hand and can't quite believe the words Hinata spouted. Like straight out of an advertisment. This guy is just so--- "You know, if you're so set on me calling you by your first name, you should have just introduced yourself like that."

He hasn't realized they kept on walking in between bantering and his thoughts of how Hinata can't possibly be real. They walk past the 5th sign by now but Kageyama ignores it with grace. Meanwhile Hinata has resumed his work on lacing the flowers together. Seems skillful but how could Kageyama know.

"But I did. I just didn't know you're a stuck-up city boy who'd go for my last name."

"What did you call me?"

There is a certain line between anger and irritation and Kageyama knows he is past both of those. But Hinata did save his ass. 

"You heard me. City folks are always so. Y'know, serious and rules here, rules there. No fun in life. You just need to let go for once, y'see."

The footsteps they make pound in Kageyama's ears. He doesn't know what to reply. Because he is right. There are a lot of limits in the city, a lot of norms to live by. Perhaps this is why Hinata seems so weird to him. Because he has lived outside of all that. 

"Ah, I'm done! Here!"

Hinata turns around in an instant - and seriously how quick is he - and slips something around his neck. He backs away at first but then sees a chain made of flowers around his neck. He lifts his fingers, touching it slightly before Hinata pulls him by his wrists with a smile. 

"And just in time! Welcome to our village!" he says and Kageyama is dragged along the shorter boy's pace into a very small village. As he said though, it seems... cozy. And familiar even although he is sure he has never been here before. 

Hinata seems busy greeting people next to rambling on and on about the shops they pass by, bragging about how his mum makes the best grilled meat in the area and Kageyama listens, he really does but it feels surreal. All of it does. He is sure he must have slipped into another dimension. The boar. It must have been the boar. 

"...You don't really like it, do you?" he eventually hears Hinata say and he is abruptly ripped out of his thoughts. 

"What? No, what?"

He looks at Hinata, confusion all in his mind and he doesn't think he can explain to him that the possibility of multiple dimensions has suddenly become an option to him in the last 10 minutes.

"Well, you don't really seem interested. I'm sorry. I promised I'd bring you here to rest because you had gotten lost. I'm always really excited when someone new is coming here, though."

His voice sounds different than before and Kageyama looks down to a much smaller hand than his own holding onto his wrist still. Frankly, he has forgotten all about being worried and - with regrets and apologies - also about his parents who might be looking for him. Like he... let go.

"Uh. No, actually I just... uh. I don't mind. I got side-tracked when you told me about your mum's grilled meat though. I... am pretty hungry."

On cue, his stomach goes along with him and grumbles. Hinata stares down at it and back to Kageyama's face. 

"...Oh. Well, I got dramatic for nothing."

Kageyama shrugs and nods. "Kinda."

They share a moment of awkward silence before Hinata turns around and drags him along again, at a slower pace than before. Hinata mostly stays silent but Kageyama feels like it is more out of embarrassment. Weird. 

"You said you get excited when people come here. Is it that rare?"

Hinata squeezes his wrist and Kageyama is sure it's going to bruise. Oh well. 

"....Pretty. Not many people come here. And if they do, they mostly just sleep here and leave again. It's mostly hikers."

"Yeah, I figured."

It sounds sort of lonely how Hinata speaks. Wasn't he boasting minutes ago how homey and great it is here? What a sudden change of mind. 

"I like it here. I really do. I wouldn't like to live in a big city. But then... it gets boring if no one comes by and by now I also know the forest by heart. I'd like to go and visit a city once. I've never been out before."

"It's just full of stuck-up people," Kageyama replies as he greets the umpteenth person while passing by just because they greet him too. They don't even know him. It's unusual but it doesn't feel that bad. 

"Are you still hung up on that?" Hinata says, turning his head around. 

"Yeah. I mean no. I mean, it's the truth. Hm. I had been thinking what to do for you since you brought me here. I don't like owing people things, so... you could come visit me once I'm back home again?"

He doesn't know whether that is a good idea or not. His parents are probably going to be okay with it even though technically he still doesn't know him but... he did save his ass. Just thinking about how Hinata formulated it makes him seem lame. 

Hinata stops in his tracks and turns around so quickly his neck cracks. 

"For real!? Like, do you live in a big city?!"

"No, just in a town but... there's still things to do. And we could take the train to a city, you know."

"A train!? Like as in an actual train like in TVs!? Whoa..... do you think we can also go to the movies?"

Kageyama nods and grins at him. "Sure."

If people could shine, Hinata would. Well, he does but not literally. His whole face is covered in a smile and Kageyama swears it is unearthly. Maybe he is in a parallel dimension. 

"And like, eat fast food?!"

"If you want to."

Kageyama is amazed at the stamina of the short boy. He keeps on talking about things he wants to do and he doesn't stop, not even when they enter his home and it makes Kageyama feel like he's intruding but Hinata's sister jumps at his neck like he's part of the family and he starts to get what Hinata meant. 

Ever since he has entered the village, he has had a warm feeling going on, unlike anything else he felt before. That's why he is so bewildered. That's why it feels like a different dimension. Which he still has not excluded by the time Natsu clings on his back as soon as he gets his backpack off. 

An hour later, when Kageyama has finished talking to Hinata's dad and assisted Hinata's mum while cooking and it seriously feels oddly like at home, Hinata pulls him up to his room. It's spacious and, unsurprising, covered in everything he has seen around the forest. Except for the signs and the boar. He should ask for that goddamn thing. Nature on two legs should know about it. 

"I'm stuffed... sorry for Natsu. She gets kinda overexcited."

"Like you."

"Wh---" Hinata's face goes pink but he exhales. "Well, we _are_ siblings."

Kageyama laughs and nods. "Yes, you are."

"Ah, speaking of which, don't you need to tell your parents you're here? You said you were with them, won't they be worried?"

Hinata starts picking leaves out of his hair and assorting them on the floor. By now, in a span of just a few hours, Kageyama has already gotten used to this type of weird behaviour. 

"I don't know, when I tried to call my parents earlier, the connection was gone. Do phones work here?"

Hinata wrinkles his nose and shrugs. "Sometimes. Mine doesn't always work. Which reminds me, you should give me your number."

"You never rode a train but you have a smartphone?"

"Y'know, just because we are out in nowhere doesn't mean we live in Stone Age."

Kageyama takes his phone out of his backpack and snorts. "As if you know when Stone Age was."

There is a signal and there are... quite a lot of messages. He didn't even bother looking at it before. 

"Yeah because you know. You don't seem to be that smart either since you---"

"Shut up," he retorts and holds the phone to his ear after dialling. The call goes through and he quickly tells his parents where he is and that he'll manage to find his way back to their hotel tomorrow. They sound relieved but not awfully worried, remarking that they were sure this was going to happen and he hangs up. 

"All set?" Hinata asks, picking the last branch out of his hair. He's a little bit like a monkey, isn't he? Or a squirrel? Maybe both.

"Yeah, it's fine. Is it okay if I stay here?"

Hinata's grin broadens and he nods quickly. "Sure thing. I'll come with you tomorrow, then."

Kageyama stops in his tracks and stares at Hinata. "Like, all the way down? Are you nuts, that took an entire day."

"It's fine. You'd probably get lost by yourself and it's basically our job to escort people back when they have gotten lost. Y'know, you're not the first one and we are all pretty used to this. You might need a day but I need just half a day."

Now Kageyama understands that growing up in such an area makes you more resistent and gives you more stamina but that's still madness. Then again, looking at Hinata how he sits down and picks leaves to sort them... it makes him wonder if he maybe rides the boar back up. Arguing probably makes no sense with Hinata. He found that out earlier too. And he is too tired to start something. 

"Fine. Do as you think. I really need to sleep, I'm dead," he says and yawns. 

"Take my bed. I'll sleep with my sister, then," he says and jumps up. He still seems full of energy even though the day had been long. Where does he store it? His body is so small yet---

"Good night, Tobio."

A sheepish grin is on Hinata's face as he rushes out with a giggle like he did a forbidden thing. What an idiot. Wasn't he the one who said everyone's on first name basis anyway? 

He gets up and stares at the closed door, listening to footsteps of Hinata and lighter ones of his sister probably, both on the stairs. He has seen a world he didn't expect to see and suddenly, though he missed thousand signs and almost got attacked by a boar, or so he thinks, the trip was definitely worth the time. 

"Good night, Shouyou," he mumbles, aware that he doesn't hear it and reminds himself to give him his number, wondering how adventurous the time will be when Hinata comes to visit him.

**Author's Note:**

> hmmm i kind of thought of continuing this, making this the first part. it would kind of make sense right? anyway, i love the thing with hinata being a nature kid a lot, like always covered in dirt and expert in climbing on trees and collecting animals and that sort of shit. the prompt was actually tourist/local and i feel like i kinda missed the point but. you know. wild life kid hinata and city boy kageyama.


End file.
